IV 112th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 802 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 21, 2012 Ms. Chu submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services RESOLUTION Commemorating the 71st anniversary of the creation of the Special Air Unit of the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), which became known as the Flying Tigers.

Whereas United States Brigadier General Claire Lee Chennault was a retired Army Air Corps Captain who worked as military aviation advisor for the Chinese Government in the early months of the Second Sino-Japanese War and then as director of a Chinese Air Force flight school centered in Kunming, China; Whereas General Chennault created the Special Air Unit of the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), which became known as the Flying Tigers, with the approval of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to assist Chinese air forces against the Japanese; Whereas many of the Flying Tigers were members of the United States Armed Forces who volunteered for the 1st American Volunteer Group, vacating previous armed forces assignments, to assist allied forces in China; Whereas, just 12 days after the devastating bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the Flying Tigers recorded 6 enemy planes shot down, which was the first successful American air strike against the Japanese at the Defense of Rangoon and Kunming; Whereas, during 1941 and 1942, the Flying Tigers were officially credited with 297 enemy aircraft destroyed, including 229 destroyed in aerial combat, a kill-ratio that was superior to that of contemporary Allied air groups in Malaya, the Philippines, and elsewhere in the Pacific Theater; Whereas the early successes of the Flying Tigers provided a significant morale boost to members of the United States Armed Forces serving in the Pacific Theater and to the American public; Whereas the 1st American Volunteer Group was disbanded on July 4, 1942, and the China Air Task Force of the United States Army Air Forces, commanded by General Chennault, officially took over air operations in China; Whereas, in March 1943, the 14th Air Force, which included a strong contingent of Chinese Americans, replaced the China Air Task Force and also became known as the Flying Tigers; and Whereas the efforts of the Flying Tigers contributed to the success of the China Defensive Campaign of World War II, and the Flying Tigers served as a powerful symbol of America’s determination and commitment to defend its ally China during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)commemorates the 71st Anniversary of the creation of the Flying Tigers and the start of their combat operations in China during World War II; (2)commends the pilots and other members of the Flying Tigers who served as representatives of the American ideals of liberty, freedom, and friendship on Chinese soil; and (3)recognizes the Flying Tigers for their inspiring contributions to the defense of China and the United States during World War II.